Mel Brooks makes solo London stage debut

Mel Brooks, the near legendary creator of movie comedy classics The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, will bring his own story to the London stage for one night only.

The Spaceballs writer will perform Mel Brooks Live In London at the Prince Of Wales Theatre on 22 March. The performance will mark the first time that Brooks has performed a solo show in a UK theatre.

Speaking about the event, which will feature a look back at Brooks’ childhood and career, the entertainment icon said: “I am thrilled to bring this introspective retrospective of my life and career to the West End stage. It will be an evening the audience will never forget—whether they want to or not!”

Brooks is one of a select number of entertainers to have won Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Academy Awards for his work. While best known for his film work – Brooks won an Oscar for the screenplay for The Producers – Brooks’ work has also had a huge impact on the stage. Both The Producers and Young Frankenstein were adapted for theatre, with The Producers setting the record for the most Tony Awards ever won by a Broadway musical, a remarkable 12. The West End production that followed continued the show’s awards success, winning three Olivier Awards.

There is something fitting about Brooks taking his solo show to the Prince of Wales Theatre as the venue’s regular musical, The Book Of Mormon, owes much to Brooks’ style of irreverent, bravely controversial comedy. Itself an award-winning hit, it follows the trials of two Mormon recruits sent to Uganda as part of the religion’s missionary work.